SJ ran like she had never run before. Behind her, she could hear the scuttling sound and crashing of the monstrous termite charging through the grasses. It was getting closer, and her breathing was getting worse as she gasped to get oxygen into her burning lungs.
“Run, Forest, Run,” Dave shouted in her mind.
“I..am……running,” she gasped in reply.
She heard a screeching sound like the call of an eagle and glanced upwards. As she did, she saw the shadow of a beast swooping down towards her position. Panicking she dove forward as the beast landed on the ground, quaking under its massive form. Turning wide-eyed, she saw a blackbird.
It pecked down at the termite that had been chasing her and, in one swift move, trapped it in its beak before swallowing it whole. SJ lay there looking at the bird, not sure what to do. It wasn’t that much larger than she was, and there was no way it could eat her whole.
“That was lucky,” Dave said.
“Lucky. I nearly got eaten by a huge termite and then thought a flying beast was attacking me.”
The blackbird stood there, eyeing her suspiciously, tilting its head to one side, hopping as though judging her.
“Thank you,” she said to it.
It squawked in reply before launching itself back into the air.
SJ stood and walked back towards where she believed the safe zone was. “Next time, can you please let me know in advance what might be out here?”
“I did tell you it was a termite mound and that it was lucky it was not a termite soldier. How was I supposed to know that one would appear.”
SJ groaned as she moved, holding the wound on her side. Still able to feel blood seeping from it.
“You know you did not have to run from it, don’t you?” Dave said.
“What do you mean that I didn’t have to run? It was huge compared to the others.”
“Not as big as you, though.”
“Those pincers were longer than my arms.”
“Yes. But you could have just grown.”
“What? Then why did you tell me to run?”
“It was more fun seeing you run like a lunatic,” Dave replied, laughing.
“ARRRGGGHHHHHH,” SJ screamed. “Do you realise that I nearly died back there, and yet you were willing to allow me to just so you could have a good laugh?”
“It would not matter anyway.”
“Of course it would. I would die.”
“Yes, but you would be reincarnated again.”
SJ stayed silent for a moment. That was true. “I still do not want to die if I can help it at all.”
“I suppose that is a good approach to consider.”
“A good approach to consider? Do you know anyone who deliberately throws themselves into a situation where they have a chance of dying?”
“Oh yes. Just consider what was mentioned in the terms and conditions for dungeons and world events.”
“That is a little different. There is an aim and a goal to achieve, isn’t there?”
“You have an aim and a goal. You are trying to level quickly.”
“Why do I need to level so quickly? You haven’t explained that to me yet.” As SJ continued walking, she thought about being large again and increased in size. She could now see she had been running at a forty-five-degree angle to the safe zone. If the blackbird had not come and eaten the termite, she never would have reached the safe zone before the termite had caught her.
She returned to the safe zone area, getting a message as she entered it. Sitting down heavily on the grass, she lifted her top up and saw a long, thin gash running down her side. She poked at it with her fingers, squeezing it together to help stem the flow. It was not very deep or even bleeding that badly, and she suddenly realised how fragile she was with only five hit points.
“The reason for levelling as soon as you can is so that you can start to get quests and increase your health.”
“Quests. Ok. So, like games, you can complete quests for experience and rewards, I assume?”
“Yes. You can also gain reputation with different factions and individuals. As your reputation increases, higher-level quests with greater rewards will become available. The best rewards are from the capitals.”
“So, where is the closest capital?”
“Give me a minute.”
Silence.
SJ was now getting used to Dave consulting his Legionnarius All-Knowing Search Engine and Wiki for answers. She stood, removed her halter neck top, and walked to the water’s edge. Kneeling, she scooped up some water, gently washing the blood from around the wound. Surprised at how quickly it was healing now that she was no longer fighting or running. Dave’s voice came back.
“To reach the capital of this continent, it is three-thousand eight hundred and twenty-four miles.”
“Over three thousand miles!” SJ exclaimed. “That would take months to reach.”
“Four or five, perhaps, depending upon the terrain and what is on the route.”
“Well, that is not going to happen soon. I nearly died leaving my starter area.”
“You will soon improve. The initial increases for levelling are massive compared to the gains at higher levels.”
“Really? I thought it would work the opposite way?”
“Not when considering the experience gain you need to level in comparison. Did you check your experience, by the way?”
“No. I had not even thought about it since running.” SJ dipped her top into the cool, fresh lake water, rinsing off the worst of the blood. A large flat stone was nearby, so she laid her top down on it to dry in the strong sun. She had not even considered so many things since arriving.
SJ said, “I need to take some time to gather my thoughts before I try again. “
“Such as?”
“Where are we?”
“I thought I told you?”
“No.”
“Ah. We are on the continent of Axynllrewam. The town you can see over the lake is known as Killic.”
“What time of year is it here? Looking around, it looks like summertime.”
“Ahhhh, well, we do not have times of year here. We have areas of continents.”
“Sorry?”
“Similar to Earth. You have Antarctica and the Arctic, which are always cold. We have the same.”
“So, there are no seasons?”
“No. The weather, temperature, humidity, etc., can vary depending on which area you are in. Today, we have bright sunshine, and it is a lovely summer’s day. You can still get downpours. It’s just that the temperature stays constant.”
“So, it would never snow here or get icy?”
“No, it shouldn’t. If it did, the chance is it would be caused by magic.”
“I could just stay here then. It is beautiful.”
“That is another thing. As your levels progress, you will find that you can no longer gain experience in a territory once you reach a certain level.”
“What is the level for here then?”
“The experience-gain restrictions here are up to level 10. Once you reach the threshold, it does not matter how many creatures or monsters you kill or quests you complete. You will never go higher.”
“Again, like games I have played before. Let me see what experience I got for the termites.” SJ opened her character sheet.
Experience: 30 of 25
Subterfuge - Identification Level 1 - 3 of 10 to level 2
“I have enough experience to reach level 1,” SJ said excitedly.
“Go for it then.”
SJ selected her level, and it automatically increased to level 1.
Congratulations on reaching Level 1
You have been awarded the following:
5 hit points
5 mana points
+1 Dexterity
+2 free points to distribute as you wish
“Wow. Health and mana doubled. +1 Dexterity and +2 to use.”
“Yes, yes. It is standard to get +5 for each level until you reach level 9, and then additional bonuses come from attributes as you gr...” Dave suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you just say +1 Dexterity?” he asked slowly.
“Yes.”
“And +2 free points?” in an even slower manner.
“Yes. Why?”
“Holy pimples from a troll’s bum, you got +2 free issue points,” Dave said excitedly.
“What is so exciting about that?”
“Between levels 1 - 10, you only ever get static choice bonuses based on race and class. It’s rare to get a free issue at level 1, never mind +2 extra. The usual level increase is only ever +1 up to level 20 and then +2 for levels 20 onwards. You do realise what this means, don’t you?”
“Errrr.”
“I thought you worked in finance. Come on, do the maths.”
SJ sat thinking through what Dave had just said. He said she would gain an extra 20 stat points from levels 1 to 10. If this stayed the same and she continued to get an extra +2 per level, she could end up with insane attributes compared to others.
“Ok. I see what you mean, and this has never happened before?”
“Nope. Never in my lifetime have I heard of a Legionnaire getting bonus attribute increases like that.”
“You think it is because of the waiver again?”
“No idea, but it could be.”
“What do you recommend I increase?”
“Considering your class and racial bonuses most would focus purely on those, but in your case, as you are getting your basic class bonus for Dexterity, maybe it is worth considering balancing a little with the extra points. Usually, assassins end up with insane Dexterity, but everything else is lacking. Not many bother with the Charisma perks, although you need to do so with Subterfuge, as most just become murdering backstabbers or poisoners.”
“You suggest I balance my attributes. Considering how I felt after running, I need to increase my Constitution. Does it also increase your health?”
“It does. Bonuses start to be added after an attribute reaches level 10. So, at level 10, you get 10% extra hit points per level. For example, if you had base hit points of 100 and a Constitution of 18, you would have 180 hit points.”
“Does it not affect the base level as well, then? I thought Constitution always did in games.”
“This is not a game, remember,” Dave sighed. “Once you reach level 10, you will gain a 10% bonus on your current hit points. If you again had 100, you would have 110 base level. 11 would be an 11% bonus, so levels add a further multiplier on top of base Constitution bonuses. Constitution also helps with stamina and endurance during fights and improves your healing speed.”
SJ tried to work out the numbers in her head. There was a lot to take in just for one attribute. “How do the other attributes work?”
“Various depending upon related skills and characteristics, you need a first from MIT or Oxford to understand the maths in the background. The easiest way to explain it and keep it simple is that every point you have over the base of 10 for an attribute will give you a ten per cent efficiency boost on skill modifiers when attacking, defending, or carrying out actions.”
“This is a lot to take in, but I am sure I will learn it all in time.”
“You will, my young loophole finder,” Dave said enthusiastically.
It was the first time SJ had heard Dave talk passionately about anything, discussing her attributes, their bonuses, and how they worked. He sounded genuinely excited, and she sat there smiling while she thought about it.
“Have you got wind?”
“No, why?”
“Just the look on your face.”
And there it was, back to the normal Dave. SJ pulled up her character sheet again and immediately added two extra points to her Constitution.
⇢Level: 1
Experience: 5 of 50
Hit Points: 10
Mana Points: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 9
Once she had, she lay back on the soft grass and smiled, looking up at the beautiful clear sky. The bright sun rays beat down on her, and it felt glorious, reminding her of lazy summer afternoons. Thinking she might enjoy it here, she closed her eyes, smiling, imagining the adventures she may have.
